Two things I wish I’d included in this piece: My experience would have been quite different if I’d had children at that time. And secondly, at that job, some of us were in college and some of us were “townies” but we all got along. I don’t remember any judgment from either side.
Amazing to me how so many people can, on the one hand, slander fast-food workers all day long and, on the other hand, flip their lid over not being able to endlessly consume fast food at bare-bottom prices. There’s just zero consideration for the fact that they’re dependent on these people to provide their food and convenience. If they care so much about their daily fast food, maybe they should give a shit about the people who make it possible.
I have a vivid mental image of my college roommate, Dave Lenson, sitting on the sofa in our living room eating tuna fish out of the can, licking his lips and patting his belly saying, “Mmmmm, it’s so cheap!”
I’m reading Madeline Pendleton’s memoir/manual called “I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” and it’s great! You probably know it all, but she’s a great story teller - I highly recommend the audiobook!
I did quite well when I worked fast food, fortunately, my first job that provided enough extra cash to party with friends. My next jobs had me strapped though and I went through about four years of working two full-time jobs just to make ends meet. It’s brutal.
I’m also surprised you didn’t get meals. U.S. corporations are so unflatteringly stingy.
Here we are some 40 years later and life is still rough or once again rough. Their were good years.
College degree in hand, we were told we could have it all. That’s what they preached to us.
Life wasn’t suppose to be this hard in our social security earning golden years. We did all the right things.... yet here we are. They call it “unretiring”.
Your article reminds me of that book nicked and dimed, where the journalist went undercover to report on poverty and slave wages for minimum wage earners.
So those of us baby boomers that are still left are thinking should I take any job I can get because I have been out of the workforce for so long.... oh god I don’t want to ring a register again.... or do I try and start my own consulting business....on a showstring.... but wait I can’t make too much or they take money back from my social security check!
Oh my!
What is a baby boomer to do???
Pull yer self up by your bootstraps.
But wait.
Gen Z says you can’t do that in 2024. The heck you can’t.
My first job was at Hardee’s as a teenager in the early aughts! Still no free meal, just half off. We snagged fries from the bin, though, and I ate a lot of expired apple turnovers after breakfast. After some experience I got promoted to being the weekend biscuit maker and felt like it was the epitome of skill. I still can’t eat a buttermilk biscuit without the sense memory of the raw buttermilk at 5 a.m.🤢
I remember my first job. Minimum wage was $4.25/hour and that's what I got lol.
I also remember being a single mom whose income was just over $800/month and daycare cost $450. If those were relative costs nowadays, I see why some two-parent families just have one parent stay home
Literally half your money going to childcare isn’t do-able! Yet neither is not working outside the home, if you don’t have a partner able to support the household.
Amazing to me how so many people can, on the one hand, slander fast-food workers all day long and, on the other hand, flip their lid over not being able to endlessly consume fast food at bare-bottom prices. There’s just zero consideration for the fact that they’re dependent on these people to provide their food and convenience. If they care so much about their daily fast food, maybe they should give a shit about the people who make it possible.
I am surprised to hear that Hardee's did not allow workers a free meal. My first work experience as a teenager and into my 20s was in fast food. One thing that I clearly remember about my fast food work experience is that we were always able to have one free meal each shift. I can't imagine working in food and not having the benefit of a free meal. Hardee's must have been very different than the other fast food places.
Two things I wish I’d included in this piece: My experience would have been quite different if I’d had children at that time. And secondly, at that job, some of us were in college and some of us were “townies” but we all got along. I don’t remember any judgment from either side.
Amazing to me how so many people can, on the one hand, slander fast-food workers all day long and, on the other hand, flip their lid over not being able to endlessly consume fast food at bare-bottom prices. There’s just zero consideration for the fact that they’re dependent on these people to provide their food and convenience. If they care so much about their daily fast food, maybe they should give a shit about the people who make it possible.
Yes!! All work is skilled work.
I have a vivid mental image of my college roommate, Dave Lenson, sitting on the sofa in our living room eating tuna fish out of the can, licking his lips and patting his belly saying, “Mmmmm, it’s so cheap!”
I’m reading Madeline Pendleton’s memoir/manual called “I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” and it’s great! You probably know it all, but she’s a great story teller - I highly recommend the audiobook!
I did quite well when I worked fast food, fortunately, my first job that provided enough extra cash to party with friends. My next jobs had me strapped though and I went through about four years of working two full-time jobs just to make ends meet. It’s brutal.
I’m also surprised you didn’t get meals. U.S. corporations are so unflatteringly stingy.
You were right, I had to buy your book, and stayed up way too late because the stories feel so real, raw, and heart-rending.
I’m sorry for costing you sleep, but not that sorry :)
Thank you!
Here we are some 40 years later and life is still rough or once again rough. Their were good years.
College degree in hand, we were told we could have it all. That’s what they preached to us.
Life wasn’t suppose to be this hard in our social security earning golden years. We did all the right things.... yet here we are. They call it “unretiring”.
Your article reminds me of that book nicked and dimed, where the journalist went undercover to report on poverty and slave wages for minimum wage earners.
So those of us baby boomers that are still left are thinking should I take any job I can get because I have been out of the workforce for so long.... oh god I don’t want to ring a register again.... or do I try and start my own consulting business....on a showstring.... but wait I can’t make too much or they take money back from my social security check!
Oh my!
What is a baby boomer to do???
Pull yer self up by your bootstraps.
But wait.
Gen Z says you can’t do that in 2024. The heck you can’t.
I need to start a new company.
Bootstrappin’ Boomers!
And that folks is how it is done!
Good luck with that!
That's the subject of my next book.
My first job was at Hardee’s as a teenager in the early aughts! Still no free meal, just half off. We snagged fries from the bin, though, and I ate a lot of expired apple turnovers after breakfast. After some experience I got promoted to being the weekend biscuit maker and felt like it was the epitome of skill. I still can’t eat a buttermilk biscuit without the sense memory of the raw buttermilk at 5 a.m.🤢
I remember my first job. Minimum wage was $4.25/hour and that's what I got lol.
I also remember being a single mom whose income was just over $800/month and daycare cost $450. If those were relative costs nowadays, I see why some two-parent families just have one parent stay home
Literally half your money going to childcare isn’t do-able! Yet neither is not working outside the home, if you don’t have a partner able to support the household.
Sweet story.
This is outstanding.
Thank you :)
Amazing to me how so many people can, on the one hand, slander fast-food workers all day long and, on the other hand, flip their lid over not being able to endlessly consume fast food at bare-bottom prices. There’s just zero consideration for the fact that they’re dependent on these people to provide their food and convenience. If they care so much about their daily fast food, maybe they should give a shit about the people who make it possible.
I am surprised to hear that Hardee's did not allow workers a free meal. My first work experience as a teenager and into my 20s was in fast food. One thing that I clearly remember about my fast food work experience is that we were always able to have one free meal each shift. I can't imagine working in food and not having the benefit of a free meal. Hardee's must have been very different than the other fast food places.